Being glued to social media is making us addicted... to ourselves

Narcissus, according to Greek mythology, fell in love with his own reflection. Thousands of years later, those obsessed with their image are falling victim to the same affliction.

An academic says the problem of self-addiction is being fuelled in part by compulsive social media use, as people posting lots of selfies to project the perfect lifestyle can end up with a distorted sense of their own reality.

William Van Gordon, a psychology lecturer at Derby University, said scientists have historically divided addictions into chemical, such as alcohol addiction, or behavioural, such as addiction to gambling or computer games. However he describes a rise in what he calls “ontological addiction”, with people being obsessed with themselves.

He said people were not aware of how easily technology…

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